Filling the diesel tank of a modest car to capacity will cost motorists an additional €10 after Monday’s price hike when compared to what the same amount of fuel cost a year ago.

An exercise carried out by The Times based on an average car with a 42-litre fuel tank showed that motorists would now be forking out €51 in diesel to fill their car to capacity as opposed to the €41 it cost last year.

If the car runs on unleaded petrol, a full tank now costs €55 as opposed to the €47 it would have cost 12 months ago.

The fuel hikes announced by Enemalta Corporation this week, which the government attributes to international developments, mean that diesel is now retailing at €1.21 per litre, a hefty 25 per cent increase on what it cost in January last year.

The price of diesel has been on a constant incline for the past 12 months, levelling out during the summer period only to resume the upward trend after that.

Figures show that the price gap between diesel and petrol has narrowed to 10c per litre from 14c per litre a year ago.

The pump price of petrol is now €1.31 per litre, an increase of 18 per cent on last year’s price.

Apart from two minor blips in March and September, the price of petrol also increased consistently.

While international fuel prices and the impact of the euro’s exchange rate with the dollar are most often blamed by Enemalta for the higher prices at the pump, in October fuels went up by 3c per litre after the government raised the excise tax.

Although fuel prices have jumped significantly, Malta had the 10th cheapest petrol price including taxes and the sixth cheapest diesel price of the 27 member states, according to the European Commission’s market observatory for energy published on December 20 (which does not include the latest fuel increases).

The relatively cheaper prices though may be of little consolation to families, who since Monday have also had to put up with higher gas prices.

Contrary to what Liquigas expected to happen when it had raised LPG cylinder prices in December – the company had said the increases would be short-lived – the company has announced higher prices for its gas products.

A 12-kilogramme gas cylinder, normally used by households, now retails at €16 up from €15.60 just a month ago and a 52 per cent increase on what it cost in January last year.

Ever since the Enemalta gas division was sold to Liquigas and the government removed its subsidy, the price of gas has gone up exponentially.

However, consumers now have the benefit of choice as a new player, Easygas, entered the ­market.

Prices announced by the new operator are marginally cheaper than those offered by Liquigas. Easygas does not offer the 12kg size but a 10kg LPG cylinder costs €13.40, making it 10c cheaper than that of its rival.

In its defence over the increases, the government said in a statement that the fact that the two gas suppliers had announced prices lower than the maximum set by the Malta Resources Authority reflected the benefits of market liberalisation.

The all-round increase in fuels provoked a negative reaction from unions yesterday with the General Workers’ Union and the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin in separate statements calling for the issue to be discussed at the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development.

Reacting to the two unions’ claims, the government asked the MCESD chairman to hold a meeting and this will go ahead on Friday.

The two major unions slammed the increases, adding they have eroded the €1.16 per week wage increase determined by the cost of living mechanism.

Expressing serious concern at the negative impact the increases would have on families, the GWU said more would find it difficult to make ends meet.

“Government is showing itself to be insensitive to the plight of the people, while it has found the money to raise ministers’ salaries by €600 a week,” the GWU said, also lamenting the failure of energy product liberalisation to benefit people.

The UĦM said the latest increases were not factored in when the €1.16 cost of living increase was announced in the Budget and people had to carry the burden without compensation until January next year.

The umbrella group of unions, Forum, also expressed concern at the hefty hikes as did the Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU.

In a scathing statement the GRTU described the government’s actions as “a transmission belt”, simply passing on international prices for fuels to consumers without considering the impact.

The government seemed to be safeguarding Enemalta’s bottom line, the GRTU added, at the expense of the private sector that had to absorb the higher fuel prices.

A survey commissioned by The Sunday Times and published on Sunday showed that the cost of living topped people’s concerns for 2011 while utility bills and fuel prices also ranked among the top 10.

Labour calls national protest

The Labour Party has called for a national demonstration to protest against the petrol and gas price hikes that came into force at the beginning of the year.

In a short statement yesterday on the latest developments in the energy sector, Labour leader Joseph Muscat, who is abroad, criticised the government for failing to protect the interests of families and businesses.

Dr Muscat said the party would be organising a national demonstration in Valletta on January 14 to protest against the current state of affairs.

He also said the opposition would be presenting a motion in Parliament on the matter, but Dr Muscat gave no details as to what the contents of the motion would be.

Earlier, Labour deputy leader Anġlu Farrugia, who is acting leader, described the price hikes as “the worst possible start to the New Year” for families.

He said the weekly wage increase announced in the Budget had fizzled out as families were facing “unprecedented” energy prices.

“(Prime Minister) Lawrence Gonzi only found his social conscience when awarding himself and his ministers a double wage,” Dr Farrugia said, criticising government for deceiving people.

Reacting in a statement, the government said the opposition was being superficial by ignoring the international economic realities – the price of fuel was dictated by what happened abroad.

It reiterated that the prices for unleaded petrol, diesel and heating oil were lower than the EU average.